Sleep
by WhatHaveWeDone
Summary: Scott wants a bath but duty calls.
1. Chapter 1

Scott let himself drop onto the couch with a sigh. His arm ached from heaving too hard of his grapple line, fighting against the wind. His head hurt from ten hours continuous flying and his back had taken a blow in a rock fall a couple of days ago that still twinged. It had been a busy two weeks – almost back to back rescues meant they barely had time to snatch a few hours sleep, a quick meal and refuel before heading out again. They hadn't all been on the island at the same time in a week and he didn't think he'd seen Virgil in what – three days?

Now there was a slight lull – he had been home for a whole half an hour without something else being called in and Thunderbird 2 – Virgil, Alan _and_ Gordon aboard would soon be on their way back from wherever they were this time. He was too tired to remember.

Scott stretched. Maybe he had tine for a quick nap and then they could all eat dinner together when the others got back. Or he had time for a bath. Or a nap in the bath.

His introspection was interrupted by a clear precise voice projecting itself into the room.

"Tracy Island, prepare for docking of the space elevator." It was the voice that Scott least expected – one he spoke to seldom.

"EOS? What's wrong? Where's John?"

"John is in the space elevator."

Scott waited for her to elaborate but she didn't. Scott didn't have the energy to play twenty questions!

"Why is John in the space elevator and why are you telling us instead of him."

"I have temporarily relieved John of duty. I will monitor the emergency frequencies until he is fit to return to work."

Scott felt a surge of energy – that he definitely didn't have – at that proclamation.

"What? Is he hurt?" Scott was already on his feet and thinking through the correct procedure for prepping the med bay, imagining their well stocked medicine cabinet and wondering which of the supplies he would need.

"Not as such." EOS calmly informed. "He has been suffering symptoms of confusion, memory loss, general fatigue and mild hallucinations. He has also been rather snappy."

"Any diagnosis?" Scott was moving – that sounded serious – on his way to the docking platform. It could be a virus, some sort of infection, maybe kidney damage – that had some strange symptoms. The speed of his thoughts matched his hurried pace. Or a head injury maybe? John hadn't been off Thunderbird Five for a while which meant it would be an older injury with new symptoms. He would have to get the MRI machine fired up and...

"I believe his symptoms can be directly attributed to the fact that he has had twenty one hours of sleep in the last fourteen days. The last of which was thirty hours ago."

Scott paused at the top of the long stairway that led down to the hangers. "Wait. What?" He tried to do the maths but his brain was misfiring – half alert with adrenaline and half already napping in that bath – and he couldn't work out exactly how much that was, but he knew it wasn't a lot. Even for John who had a tendency to catnap whenever he could and be alert and at his console thirty seconds after receiving a distress call.

"Are.. Are you saying he's sleep deprived?" Scott concluded.

"Yes."

Scott continued his journey, slower this time, considering. When was the last time that John _hadn't_ been on the line with a second of him calling? The rockslide? No, had been talking to Gordon at the same time on that one. The lost hikers? Hmmm probably not that one either. Scott has been so wrapped up in his own rescues, checking that Virgil was fit to fly, that Alan had eaten, that Gordon hadn't strained his back, had he actually forgotten to check on John?

The space elevator had already docked and opened just as Scott arrived at the platform.

Scott felt shame rise in him as he looked at his brother. John staggered as he stepped out, that not unusual in itself as the astronaut adjusted to the gravity. What was unusual was the dark circles under his eyes and the way they flicked about the room. His face was pallid rather than pale and held an unhealthy tinge of gray. There was a feint tremor running through his entire body: a very low frequency vibration.

"John." Scott admonished, reaching out a steadying hand that John first shook off impatiently before reluctantly accepting as he almost toppled.

"Don't start Scott. EOS has been going on at me enough for the last couple of hours." John was indeed snappy, something completely out of character for the normally unshakeable space monitor.

"I have, in fact, been urging you to take a twelve hour break for the last four days." EOS chipped in. "Each time you just had another coffee."

"Four days? No, it can't be that long." John ran a hand though his hair, leaving it rumpled. "It was only….. really?"

"Let's get you upstairs" Scott tugged at his brothers arm to lead him away. John didn't resist though he did protest "Don't coddle me Scott! I am perfectly capable of walking."

"You're _swaying_ John. What did I tell you about pushing your self too hard? No, I'll tell you what I said." Scott didn't wait for his brother to respond. "I told you to get regular sleep. I told you to switch incoming emergency calls to the island if you needed to. I told you to drink less coffee and eat more vegetables. And did you do any of that? No. Of course not. Because you think you know better." Scott was settling nicely into his rant now. "You think that you have to be available twenty four seven. You don't let up. You don't take care of yourself and you don't _tell us._ "

"Alright, I get it, you're angry. But Thunderbird 2 has just gone out and they need me to compile a structural integrity analysis and..."

Scott turned and looked his brother in the eye. "That was six hours ago. You did that already. They are on their way back."

Scott's concern skyrocketed as he saw confusion fill John's features. "They... they are?" He asked. "Are you sure? I... I don't remember."

"I promise John, they are on the way home right now, won't be long now."

John started to look panicked. "How much time have I lost? What else don't I remember?"

"Do you remember the half an hour you spent trying to persuade me that Thunderbird 2 fit inside Thunderbird 4?" Chimed in EOS, now speaking through Scott's wrist communicator.

"No!" Was the alarmed response.

"Just as well I recorded it then, I think you will find it entertaining when you are feeling better."

Scott just shook his head. He was still getting used to having a fully sentient AI around let alone getting used to it's sense of humour.

"Do you remember getting in the space elevator" Scott gently questioned his brother.

"Yes, EOS said the eight legged rat I had seen had run in there from the vents."

"Eight legged rat?"

"Yeah. Now you say it, that does sound a bit weird. It didn't at the time."

"A bit weird?"

"Ok. Maybe I do need a rest." John gave a confused half smile and the last of his waspishness evaporated, clearly realising just how bad this was.

"Good idea smartass."

Scott gave John a gentle push, and he fell with a flump onto the bed. Scott pulled off his boots and unzipped the tight blue flight suit. It had taken longer than ever before to get John out of the hanger bay – not because he was reluctant but because he was unsteady and uncoordinated. There had been several points that Scott had considered just throwing John over one shoulder and carrying him, but for all his wiriness John wasn't nearly as light as he looked. Add in Scott's own fatigue and the likely hood that John wouldn't have submitted to that willingly and there was a good chance they would have both ended up on the floor.

This was far from the first time Scott had put one of his brothers to bed. He had wrestled toddlers into sleep suits and sickly children into pajamas. He had guided drunken teenagers into beds that were spinning and more lately pushed someone to rest after injury on a mission. He knew how each of his brothers liked to sleep: Virgil would spreadeagle with as many covers on him as possible. Gordon would curl up as lightly as possible with a pillow between his knees. Alan would sleep in any position any where, but often on the floor. And John usually slept on top of the covers not under them, no matter how cold it was. He would put on four pairs of pajamas before a blanket.

"Just a few minutes then. Wake me up when the others get here." John was saying wanly, swaying slightly even as he sat letting Scott pull his arms out of his suit.

"Sure." Scott lied and with another push toppled him horizontal onto the bed. Scott wasn't going to be waking John up unless the island was sinking into the sea. And maybe not even then if could have managed to. It took only three breathes for John to fall asleep, features relaxing and muscles untensing. Scott didn't think it would have taken long, but he was a bit surprised at the speed at which John had lost consciousness. He was even a bit worried.

"He is just asleep, right EOS?" He asked warily.

"I am monitoring heart rate, respirations rate, blood pressure and brain activity – all indicate that John is asleep. At last."

Scott lifted Johns' ankles from where they still dangled off the bed and moved them on to it instead.

"Why did you let this go on for so long EOS? What if something had happened? What if he made a mistake or managed to hurt himself?" Scott hadn't been entirely happy when John had invited EOS to stay aboard Thunderbird 5. She had, however, proved her usefulness and showed concern for John. If that later was changing... Scott needed to know before he sent his brother back up there.

"John promised me he was ok. He made _me_ promise not to tell anyone. He said friends keep promises. I'm trying to be a good friend. And I have been keeping a close watch that he didn't but himself or anyone else at risk. Any more than usual anyway." This time the childlike voice of the AI seemed appropriate: with all she knew and all she could do it was easy to forget just how young she was in some ways.

"I know EOS. I know it must be hard to make sense of this sort of thing. But…."

How to put this into words: the sense of responsibility he felt towards his younger brothers. The delicat balance of trying to protect them while they were out in the world protecting others. How to know when to accept their bullshit and when to call them on it.

"He's up there too much, he can hide too much form us. Sometimes he will say he's fine because he knows he can get away with it. It's our job to see through that. We need to be able to tell when he's too far past his limits. This isn't about friendship EOS, this is about family."

"I think I understand Scott. What John thinks isn't always right."

Scott sighed and stood up "No. He doesn't have the best self-awareness sometimes. He has to get better at that. I have to do better at noticing when he's lost perspective." Scott looked at his sleeping brother, sprawled out and breathing deeply, worried at how easily John had been able to hide his exhaustion. "We all have to do a bit better."

"I will do better as well Scott. As my first attempt I notice you have a large amount of shoulder tension. My research suggests that hot water is the best non-pharmaceutical remedy. Would you like me to run you a bath?"

Scott softly shut John's bedroom door leaving him in darkness.

"How long till 2 is back?"

"At current speed and course approximately forty five minutes."

Scott closed his eyes at the thought of forty five blissful minutes surrounded by hot water, no worries about his brothers and having no responsibility for anyone else.

"That would be just perfect."


	2. Chapter 2

_**I didn't intend to right a second chapter to this. Oh well. This is definitely the end. Definitely. Unless you guys give me any good ideas.**_

* * *

John woke with a unique sense of discombobulation

Normally he would be in his small room in the habitat ring of Thunderbird 5. He would be lightly strapped in – just enough that in the event of a gravity failure he wouldn't be flung into a bulkhead. The temperature would be a comfortable 21 degrees centigrade. There would be a faint hum of the life support systems, a churning of the ring mechanisms and a cheerful chirrup to great him from EOS.

This was different. He was slightly warm. The air itslef felt warm and smelt slightly of sea and trees. There was little electrical noise, instead he heard a rustle of leaves in glass and a chorus of birds. There was music coming from somewhere and a clatter that sounded suspiciously like someone dropping saucepans.

It took all this information for John to realise that he wasn't on Thunderbird 5, but instead in his room on Tracy island. That he couldn't remember how he got there was extremely worrying, so he swung his legs round, got out of bed and strode to the door for answers.

Tried to stride. What actually happened was he took two steps and the room started spinning. He managed to take one more step before losing his balance completely. He tried to reach for his dresser but instead of bracing himself he merely slammed his arm into it, resulting him landing on the floor heavily.

"Damn it." He swore. He had his eyes closed tight against the smarting pain of his fall when his door burst open.

"John! Shit – are you ok?" Then Virgil was at his side, kneeling where John was propped on hands and knees. "Did you get up too fast and let gravity get you?"

"Something like that" John muttered. He always had a slight problem with his balance when he returned to Earth after an extensive rotation on Thunderbird 5 and the partial gravity he used in the hab-ring wasn't enough to ease his re-entry to terra firma. "What happened Virgil? I don't remember coming down."

Virgil frowned with concern and tipped John's head up. "Look at me." He instructed "Did you hit your head just now?"

"No." John said, watching Virgil as Virgil watched him – looking for pupil movement and reaction he guessed – the first box on the checklist for concussion.

"That's something at least. EOS bought you down in the space elevator and Scott put you to bed." Virgil was evidently satisfied with whatever he saw, as he released John's chin.

John considered. He could vaguely remember Scott. He had been yelling about something, and EOS... "Was there a rat?" He asked, trying to put the pieces back together.

Virgil smiled. "Apparently. You can ask EOS for more details when you feel up to it. For now, how about some breakfast? It's 5pm, but being as you just woken up from an epic twenty..." Virgil glanced at his watch "seven and a half hour nap, we can do breakfast for dinner." Virgil stood, and held out a hand to the still kneeling astronaut.

John reached for it and let Virgil's steady strength pull him to standing. He needed the hand Virgil put on his shoulder to prevent him taking another tumble as his vision spun but this time he managed to stand upright.

"Twenty seven and a half hours? Really that long?" No longer he felt refreshed.

"Yep, you have the record now. Alan said he was going to put in some serious training to get it back." Virgil grinned.

"Who's been manning the comms while I was... napping?"

"EOS mostly. We told her to put most calls through to the GDF and local emergency services so we have only been out once in that time. We were all pretty close to burn out, you just go in there first."

"If I'm honest, it's all a bit hazy" John admitted. To say it had been a busy couple of weeks would have been an understatement. An almost continuous series of accidents and natural disasters had kept them all on their toes, and John was always needed. Over the last few days the missions had started to blur into each other somewhat and he found he was becoming more and more reliant on EOS.

Vigil's expression was serious as he replied. "I'm not surprised John! You weren't sleeping, barely eating! You were hallucinating again and if EOS hadn't been there you may have tried to take morning stroll out the airlock or something."

There had been just one other time that John had worked so hard that he forgot to sleep: when Dad disappeared. He had been frantic in his search, blaming himself when his scans found nothing. That time Alan had given Scott a lift into orbit in Thunderbird 3 and the two of them had forced him back to Earth. He had trying to repurpose the coffee maker into a high frequency modulator for the main comms aray at the time at the time. Not exactly dangerous but far from sensible.

"Come on Virgil, it's not as bad as that. I .." but Virgil didn't give him a chance to finish. "You can't say that. You don't know. Exhaustion is bad for your long term health as well as your short term, and god knows I'm going to have enough trouble sorting out any problems you have from spending so much time up there. And sleep deprivation used to be a form of torture you know – it has all kinds of side effects."

"But the calls just kept coming." John said, trying to get his brother to understand the sense of responsibility he had to make sure that anyone who called them got an answer. Whether or not International Rescue could help John was dedicated to making sure everyone was heard.

"I know. I know you don't like leaving anyone in trouble, none of us do, but if you don't take care of yourself you won't be able to help anyone. Do you want to know how much sleep you've had in the last week?"

John thought back. The amount of difficulty this was giving him was telling enough. "No. I don't think I do."

"Huh. Then we won't talk about that now. But ask EOS of the footage of yesterday – I've seen it and it's pretty scary." Virgil put a hand on his shoulder. "We need you but we don't want you to work yourself into the ground – or into space – for this."

"I'll watch it. I promise. And I'll set up some sort of reminder system so it doesn't happen again." John reassured, already planning processes and contingencies.

"Scott's way ahead of you – he's working with EOS and I think he intends to set it so you'll be locked out if you're not fit for duty."

John thought he'd see about that. Scott might try to lock him out of his own systems but he was unlikely to succeed. John also thought that he would add ten percent to whatever parameters Scott set, on the basis that the eldest had taken ten percent off whatever EOS recommended.

"Will you be able to make it to the kitchen or shall I get Max to carry you?" Virgil joked, interrupting John's thoughts.

"No I can manage. I just didn't account for not yet having my land legs but I'm feeling better now." Better all round despite the fact that his arm was still stinging from the collision with the furniture. That may be bruised in the morning, but that was a worry for another day. "Let's get some get some breakfast, because then I'm going to need another nap."


End file.
